Developing a rapport between African American and Latino populations

Dunford continues to discuss some of the cultural differences that were complicating community coherence in Edgemont during the 1990s with the rapid growth of the Latino population. In stressing the importance of developing a rapport between seemingly disparate groups as the first step towards achieving community solidarity, Dunford points to some of the tensions that were making it difficult to bridge some of those gaps at that time.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Martina Dunford, February 18, 1999. Interview K-0142. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

ALICIA ROUVEROL:

And that's some of what I was talking with George Koontz
about‚Äîthis whole thing. How do you start to build links where
you have cultural difference? Where you have language difference and
that kind of thing? I wonder as you think about Edgemont Community
Center and sort of what it's trying to do, how do you see the
possibility for building connections there?

MARTINA DUNFORD:

Well, I think a lot of what Jackie is doing‚Äîthere's
an African American woman that has established a rapport with a Hispanic
or Latino woman. More of that is going to have to happen, so that if we
decide to have a community cross-cultural event‚Äîand a lot of
places have food things where we introduce you to our foods and back and
forth‚Äîwhere they'll start to mingle and pull
people together, in addition to inviting them to the table; inviting
them to projects and programs to be a part of it so that they can reach
their people and bring them in. Rapport is always the first thing,
because people are not trustworthy nowadays. This is the
'90s. Before, you could probably go up to somebody and they
would say‚Äîyou have to establish a friendship sort
of thing where they'll feel comfortable with what you are
saying to them. And we don't trust them no more than they
trust us. You're talking about a whole different culture that
you want me to trust myself with. No, no, no, no. That's
taking me out of my comfort zone first of all, and
then you are asking me to do something I don't understand
because I don't speak Spanish. That's different.
To bridge those gaps is going to have to take people like Jackie and
Mrs. Perez and‚Äîpockets of
people‚Äîwho are starting to meet each other and
greet each other and keep up, be friends and invite them to different
cultural events. And then they'll bring their children, and
their cousins and their friends to an event because they know
it's something that they need, and then you start interacting
that way. It's going to be a process, and it's
going to take a while because neither culture trusts each other. And
that's just because over time it's been just
us‚Äîjust been the African American community, and now here
comes this whole wave of people.

ALICIA ROUVEROL:

Have you noticed these changes in the community over this nine year
period?

MARTINA DUNFORD:

Well, the people themselves don't know because they
don't really interact with the Hispanic community. But
I've heard laws and views and things. Some of the things for
instance, like granting them opportunities‚Äîmore opportunities
or better opportunities than the African American people have been able
to‚Äîgo into a bank and say Well, I've been, I need
a loan. But because you're from a foreign country and
there's certain rules and regulations that govern certain
things about you‚Äîwho you are‚Äîyou are entitled.
There are certain rights and entitlements to you. Now when we did it, it
was fine for a period of time. And then all of a sudden it became, Well
this is discriminating and you can't do that. And there were
no provisions made for the African American community. Now we have to
learn a second language because these people are here. I mean
they're here. I speak to them as these people because
I'm just saying generally we have to learn a second language
in order to communicate. Ebonics is a language all of itself, but you're out of you mind or
you're just stupid or whatever if you speak in a certain
manner. None of this was taken into account. The European community
needs to understand and adapt to some of the culture of the African
American community. But still, when the Hispanic community showed up,
okay. We've got to make a change here, and we've
got to make a change. And some new things have got to happen because of
this population of people.

ALICIA ROUVEROL:

So have people felt that there were preferences‚Äî

MARTINA DUNFORD:

Yes.

ALICIA ROUVEROL:

‚ÄîGiven to Latino residents that weren't given to
African Americans? What are the other issues that come up for people in
the community like Few Gardens and Edgemont generally‚Äîthe
long time residents? What are the, like you've mentioned
preferences; you've‚ÄîI'm just trying to
think. Are there other issues that have come to the fore that have been
expressed to you personally about the presence of Latino culture
here?

MARTINA DUNFORD:

Well, just the work factor. They're getting the jobs.
They're getting the jobs. I mean, like I said before, there
are issues with that. Yes there are, and we could get those same jobs if
those were the jobs that we chose to go after. But because we know
that‚Äîwe've been in the trenches for so long we
don't want to stay there. It's time to grow. They
don't expect us to grow; they expect us to stay in that same
rut that we've always been in. If I'm due certain
rights and opportunities I want them, and I don't want to
settle for anything less. The older people in the community are really
like, They come in, they get all the jobs. They get all the
opportunities and what not. And what about us? We had to struggle so
long to just get to where we are to this point, and still
we'll walk in and be denied because of
skin color or even limitations of funds. They don't have any
money per se. But because they are who they are, they are getting
opportunities. There are certain rules and regulations that will help
them get what they need.